How To Set Up EFT In Your Personal Training Business

eftptpowerI hope you’re doing great!

Since I got over fifty comments on the “What Can I Do For You?” blog post…

and since you guys came up with some AWESOME topics for me to write about…

and since 2010 is going to be an epic year for your personal training business and I want to help make that happen – here’s what I’m gonna do.

I’m gonna spend the next few blog posts answering your questions.

And since I got a bunch of comments asking about how to set up Electronic Fund Transfer (Auto Debit or EFT) I’m gonna cover that first.

You already know that EFT is probably the fastest and easiest way to automate a BIG portion of your personal training or boot camp business, right?

I mean, did you really get into the personal training business to be a check chaser each month?

AND it’s the best way I know to stabilize your business and make your monthly income consistent and reliable because once you set up EFT in your business you don’t have to sell single sessions, or blocks or session at a time and then try to re-sell the client all over when her sessions are done.

I don’t know about you, but when I started my personal training studios I didn’t want to resell each client over and over again or risk losing them when they ran out of sessions.

And if you run boot camps the old fashion way – four or six weeks on and then two weeks off… sorry, but that’s probably one of the stupidest business models EVER – I mean EVER!

(The exception being specific time based programs that are designed to funnel clients into an EFT based recurring program like my 21 Day Rapid Fat Loss Program, or the six week body transformation programs that roll into an EFT based program like some of my mastermind clients are running and absolutely destroying it.)

Here’s how to set up EFT for your fitness business.

optionsStep One: If you do one-one-one training sessions – stop selling single or small blocks of 10, 15, or 20 sessions at time. Instead create results oriented programs based on time.

For example, you might have a six and twelve month program. Each program would offer a one, two, three, or four time a week training options. (I talk more about pricing options and how to set up your program prices for maximum profits in my PT Business Course.

Step Two: You can set up a recurring billing system two ways. If you have a gym or studio and want to manage multiple trainers, clients, and run EFT I suggest that you go with GetShape.net.

My buddy Larry King owns GetShape and several of my high level coaching and mastermind clients use it and love it.

You’re other option for setting up and running EFT – and this works best if you are a one man or woman show or run a boot camp – is the 1shoppingcart.com and authorize.net combo.

Basically this combo is used to accept payments online from your site. You can simply create different recurring monthly price points in the system and then get it up on your personal training or boot camp sales site and your good to go.

Once a client (or you, on behalf of your client) makes the purchase from your site they are committing to $X dollars per month, to be billed on a recurring basis every 30-days.

You can set up the 1shopping cart and GetShape solutions to bill someone for a period of time, like six or 12 months and then stop. Or set it up to bill the client on a recurring basis until the clients decides they’re done training – this is how I would set up my boot camp if I were you… no stop date.

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Step Three: The right agreement is key. It doesn’t matter if your agreement is online or in paper it’s got to cover the details of the program.

For example, your agreement (or contract) needs to over the length of time the program is for, how the client can cancel if they want to do so, the terms of the payment, billing dates (if you’re gonna use specific billing dates) and a bunch of other legal mumbo jumbo that will keep your butt out of hot water if you don’t craft your service agreement appropriately.

If you’re not sure about the contract you’re using I highly suggest that you pick up the PT Business Course because in it I give you my actual service agreement that cost me over $7,000 in attorney fees to have crafted. It’s battle hardened in virtually every state (though I high suggest that make sure it’s kosher to use in your state before putting it into action).

Is EFT perfect?

Nope, but it’s pretty darn close and it’s the only way I ran my business and the only way my most successful, seven figure generating coaching clients run theirs.

I hope this post made it easier for you to understand EFT and how to set it up.

If I missed something… or if you have a question about EFT that I didn’t answer here just leave it in the comment box below and I’ll be sure to answer all your questions.